We use The Arctic Ocean Perennial Ice Zone:

NSCAT, RADAR.SAT and ice motion data to examine the perennial ice zone (PIZ) of the Arctic Ocean between Oct 1996 and May 1997. The PIZ is identified by a simple backscatter-based classification of gridded NSCAT backscatter fields. The area of the PIZ at the beginning of October occupies 5.32 x lo6...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: R. Kwok, G. F. Cunningham, S. Yueh, Ron Kwok
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1996
Subjects:
Arctic
Arctic Ocean
Baffin Bay
Nares
Baffin
Canadian Archipelago
Fram Strait
Nares strait
Sea ice
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.572.5017
http://trs-new.jpl.nasa.gov/dspace/bitstream/2014/20805/1/98-1889.pdf
Description
Summary:NSCAT, RADAR.SAT and ice motion data to examine the perennial ice zone (PIZ) of the Arctic Ocean between Oct 1996 and May 1997. The PIZ is identified by a simple backscatter-based classification of gridded NSCAT backscatter fields. The area of the PIZ at the beginning of October occupies 5.32 x lo6 k m 2, approximately 76 % of the Arctic Ocean ice cover. By the first of May, only 4.54 x lo6 k m 2 of that area remains, a decrease of 0.78 x lo6 k m 2 over the 7-month period. This area loss can be explained almost entirely by ice export. We estimate the ice flux through Fram Strait using ice motion derived fiom satellite passive microwave data. Over this period, the total area flux of sea ice through Fram Strait estimated fiom ice motion is 0.80 x lo6 k m 2, approximately 12 % of the Arctic Ocean. Approximately 0.70 x lo6 k m 2 or 88 % of the exported area is from the PIZ. Nares Strait outflow is small at 34,000 k m 2, and is estimated by summing the high backscatter areas that flow out of the strait into northern Baffin Bay. After accounting for the outflow through the Fram and Nares Straits, an unexplained residual of 46,000 k m 2 remains. We attribute this residual to errors in our estimation process, the unaccounted for ice flux through the Canadian Archipelago and the net divergence and convergence of the PIZ over the period. This study shows that: 1) the NSCAT backscatter fields provide an estimate of the PIZ coverage of the Arctic Ocean; and, 2) the decrease in PIZ area over the winter gives an indication f the PIZ area exported through Fram 1.

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